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Onion production in Burkina Faso faces challenges meeting annual demand, exacerbated by postharvest bulb rot during storage primarily caused by the fungus Aspergillus niger. This investigation evaluated the in vivo effectiveness of Ocimum gratissimum essential oil in protecting inoculated onion bulbs across the Violet Galmi, Safari, and Damani varieties. Pathogenicity testing showed that mycelial inoculation resulted in significantly greater rot intensity of 40.28% compared to conidial inoculation at 4.39%. Application of Ocimum gratissimum essential oil at concentrations of 1.5% and 15% successfully reduced rot intensity by 37.19% and 47.67%, respectively. The results confirm that this essential oil possesses antifungal properties capable of limiting fungal decay in stored onions, offering a promising plant-derived biopesticide to curb postharvest food losses.
Postharvest rot directly undermines food security and farmer livelihoods by destroying stored vegetables before they reach consumers. Demonstrating that a botanical essential oil can curb Aspergillus niger infection provides a foundation for developing natural crop protection alternatives. Such plant-based treatments could help safeguard onion reserves and mitigate storage deficits without relying entirely on synthetic chemical interventions.
This work supports the development of botanical biopesticides intended to protect stored onions against fungal rot. Potential users include commercial onion farmers, postharvest storage operators, and biopesticide manufacturers. The research remains at an early applied testing stage: while in vivo efficacy has been established on inoculated bulbs at specific concentrations, the abstract does not indicate broader pilot trials, commercial formulation development, or economic feasibility assessments under typical commercial storage conditions.
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Onion production in Burkina Faso is predominantly off-season and remains insufficient to meet the annual consumption needs of the population. This deficit is partly due to postharvest losses caused by bulb rot during storage, primarily induced by Aspergillus niger. The objective of this study was to evaluate in vivo the effectiveness of O. gratissimum essential oil in inoculated onion bulbs. This study first evaluated the pathogenicity of A. niger on onion bulbs of the Violet Galmi, Safari, and Damani varieties after mycelial and conidial inoculations. The in vivo antifungal efficacy of O. gratissimum essential oil was then investigated on inoculated bulbs at concentrations of 0.15%, 1.50%, and 15%. The results obtained evidenced that mycelial inoculation caused a significantly higher mean rot intensity (40.28%) than conidial inoculation (4.39%). In addition, treatment with O. gratissimum essential oils at concentrations of 1.5% and 15% reduced the rot intensity by 37.19% and 47.67%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the promising antifungal potential of O. gratissimum essential oil as a biopesticide for protecting postharvest onion bulbs and reducing storage losses.
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DOI: 10.1080/26895293.2026.2721690
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